8 Reasons Why You Should Avoid All-Inclusive Resorts
THE UGLY TRUTH:
They cut corners on cleanliness
They put guests health at risk
Employees are not as accountable for their actions
They charge extra for everything
The food is sub par unless you upgrade
They encourage over indulging on food and drinks
They water down their drinks
Security is lacking
In July of 2013, my wife and I traveled to Secret's Silversands Riviera Maya in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. The vacation was planned as a “mystery vacation” by our very trusted travel agent who had visited the resort on a few occasions. We gave her a budget and thought it would be a fun surprise! Yes, we really trust her! Upon finding out our destination three days before we were to leave, I was pleased to find that they were listed as one of the top resorts in the area. As seasoned travelers, we had high expectations for our first trip to Mexico considering the various ratings. However, after visiting the resort we quickly realized that this vacation would be one of our worst.
The resort ground are beautiful, but don’t look too closely. Photo Credit: Cheapcaribbeanvacations.com
Beautiful, but just under the covers was mold!!!
Upon arriving at the resort, we were registered and brought to our room which was not ready. We were asked to stand outside until the attendants finished. It was a good 45 minutes before we were allowed in. The room was huge and well appointed, but we noticed a foul smell of mildew. We pulled the covers back on the bed only to find mold growing on the sheets. It was absolutely gross. We called the office immediately.
There was a pool right outside of our room and was located a few more steps from the Caribbean. The smell was bothering me a bit, so I told my wife I was going to take a dip in the pool. There were quite a few guests sunning themselves around the pool, but found it weird that no one was swimming. As I made my way into the pool, I felt refreshed by the cool water. I decided to take a lap down and back. As I made my way towards the center of the pool, I noticed something floating in the water. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was a large piece of human feces. There was a turd in the pool……and no one warned me!! I was mortified!! I immediately jumped out of the water and made my way back to the room with my tail between my legs. I understand that people drink at an all inclusive, but if you’re drinking to the point that you shit yourself in a pool, you have a problem. I immediately called the desk. They told me they were aware and that they were sending someone to get it out. GET IT OUT!!!! I felt like they should close the pool until it was sanitized…….. It never was.
All inclusive resorts encourage uninhibited drinking which leads to belligerence and uncontrolled body functions!
Large all-inclusive resorts have an easier time of deferring blame. Their corporate structure limits their accountability. Boutique hotels and resorts are usually family owned and operated. Therefore, they are much more accountable for their actions.
I will not belabor the moment to moment, so I will list our issues:
The pool overlooking the beach was filthy dirty. Algae was growing in the grout, and the water was extremely cloudy. I don't think the filter ever ran the entire time we were there. The following picture is of workers scooping debris (it was a slime of some kind) out of the pool. One night, I observed the attendant vacuuming the pool with a portable pump, indicating that the filter was not running.
The guests referred to it as one of the “pee pools.” Those were the two pools that all the drunk and belligerent guests spent their entire day screaming and yelling. So much for our relaxing beach/pool front vacation. We instead chose to use a pool in another location where the water was cleaner and the atmosphere more sedate.
ADVICE: If you are intent on going to an all- inclusive, choose a room away from the main pools
It looks sedate, but they laid there all day screaming and drinking. I observed several people that never got out of the Pee” pool after drinking a dozen drinks.. YUCK!!
We asked to change our room, and they switched us to the other side of the resort. The room had a similar smell and I decided to take a shower. When I turned the water on, there was a distinct smell of sewage. YOU READ THIS CORRECTLY. I was once again shocked. As I filled up the sink with water, we saw a major problem. It was yellow. My wife called the office to express our concerns and they said no one else was complaining. It was a short time later….within hours that Montezuma got his revenge. For the next ten days I basically lived in the bathroom while my wife fed me vodka to ease cramping. THANK GOD FOR VODKA!! A day later, they were working on the sewage system during dinner. We noticed that people with rooms around us vanished. Several days later, they reemerged telling of their stomach issues.
Bathroom water color. It smelled of sewage.
Guests were warned by the hostess at dinner not to take pictures of them working on the sewer lines. I took this stealthily.
On our anniversary, the staff screwed up our romantic “Dinner on the Beach” reservations which had been reserved since mid June. We showed up at 8:30 to find that they had no record of us, even though they took our menu requests and charged the room for the experience. The manager ran around for 20 minutes trying to figure out what happened. He told us that the desk....not sure which one....never gave him our names.
We were escorted; like criminals; to the Preferred Club desk where they tried to straighten it out, but they gave us a refund because my wife didn't want to celebrate our anniversary another day. The staff was quite intimidating and tried to blame the mistake on us. An employee, Karla, was very sweet and could tell we were upset. She said she would send a bottle of wine to the room, which never arrived. We left the desk and went to one of the restaurants to try to salvage what was left of the night. After being seated, Karla came in and said that they could set up a table for us on the beach. It was getting late now close to 10 pm, and my wife said no. Karla spoke to the manager of the restaurant and they gave us a special menu. They suggested a $52 bottle of wine, and charged us for it at the end of the dinner. At this point, I didn't care.
All-inclusive resorts charge extra for everything! Many times, they can’t or won’t deliver and there is little or no accountability for their actions.
A beautiful place to have dinner……….or NOT.
By the 20th, I suggested to my wife that we leave the resort. In the many years of traveling to destinations all over the world, I had never made such a suggestion like that. I would have preferred to lose the money at this resort and incur the additional expenses to salvage our vacation. She convinced me to stay. We spent nearly $6000 to stay at this resort including our airfare. I am sad to say it was an absolute waste of money.
I have never seen such a highly rated resort take so little concern with cleanliness and attention to detail. Aside from all I have mentioned, we personally observed staff handling food barehanded, the wiping tables with used guest napkins, found hairs in my wife’s pork tacos at El Patio on our last night, and watched staff conduct sewer maintenance during dinner at the Oceana. It seemed as if we could never get a break. I have attached photos as proof of my allegations. The resort staff should be ashamed at the lack of concern for the well being of their guests. They put health at risk and left bad memories that will never be undone.
Outdoor bathtub that looked as if it was NEVER cleaned.
Aside from the obvious health risks, we were unable to enjoy the surrounding area. There were guards on the beach that warned us not to go farther down the beach.. Evidently, the area is fairly dangerous. In fact, the US Government issued a travel warning. “Riviera Maya is overwhelmed with homicides, carjackings and kidnappings. They stated it is absolutely not safe for tourists.” We went on an excursion to Xcaret, but with armed security. There were checkpoints with armed guards every ten or so miles. It was not comforting. As mentioned, they had security on both sides of the beach, but I saw them allowing certain unsavory characters to interact with the guests. My guess is that they were dealing drugs and security was getting a kickback.
Such a beautiful beach. The beauty masks the inherent danger that exists just beyond the resort walls.
Upon return home, I immediately wrote to the resort, AM Resorts and GoGo vacations. After nearly 35 emails, the resort offered us $2000 back from the vacation costs. I accepted, but they failed to send the money until GoGo vacations got involved. The process took nearly 2 months to get a partial refund and the resort still gave GoGo vacations and our travel agent the run around. It was never about the money. It was about the loss of our vacation. I would never book with Secrets or any other AM Resorts property.
I will never again vacation at an all-inclusive resort. In previous all-inclusive vacations, we had a few incidents that raised eyebrows, but they never rose to this level. Our experience was inexcusable!
Our review of the resort on TripAdvisor has garnered over 40,000 reads. If you or anyone you know has had a similar experience, it’s your job as a traveler to warn others. Don’t allow the big chains to push you around or bury your review. Yes, they have legal teams, but you have a camera….and you know what they say……a picture is worth a thousand words.
A Bit Of Travel Advice
BOUTIQUE HOTELS AND RESORTS ARE A BETTER OPTION. Usually Boutique establishments are owner operated. The owners are much more accountable and therefore much more aware of how their establishment is operating.
PAY AS YOU GO. Unless you are a raging alcoholic or you gorge yourself on sub par food, you should pay as you go. It’s actually cheaper.
DONT DRINK THE WATER. Drink bottled only and brush your teeth with bottled water.
DON’T LET ANYONE TAKE YOUR CREDIT CARD. FOLLOW THEM IF THEY MUST. Our credit was stolen while we were at the resort. Be careful when handing out your credit card. Don't let them take it out of your sight. When we returned from our trip I found someone had stolen our credit card number.
WATCH FOR CLEANLINESS. This can be tough, but speak up if you see something that strikes you the wrong way.
DON’T OVERDRINK. The quickest way to make yourself a victim of a crime is to lose control of your ability to make good judgements. Don’t ever set your drink down and walk away for even a minute. Someone could spike your drink.
BE ALERT TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS The security on the property of an all-inclusive suggest there might be a threat. If you can’t go off the resort, you’re probably in an unsafe place,
DON’T TALK TO PEOPLE ON THE BEACH THAT LOOK LIKE THEY ARE TROUBLE People offer drugs on the beach. They know that many are there to party and they want to profit from it. Don’t be surprised if you buy from an undercover cop and find yourself in a foreign jail. A note of caution, most of the world does not afford its’ citizens the rights that are afforded to you under the Constitution. Your rights don’t travel with you when you travel, so know before you go…..
